


The Neko's Tail

by YeOldeBard



Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:55:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23100559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YeOldeBard/pseuds/YeOldeBard
Summary: Elias is a neko out of place. He has been through much in his short life, and now he has been kidnapped from his planet by a strange tiger. His journies will take him across the stars, and just maybe he will learn a few things.





	1. The Taking of the Neko

Elias ran through the tall grass, his feet making a beeline for Danuva’s home. A sudden snarl filled the air and the neko was thrown to the ground.  
A wolf stalked toward him, a malicious gleam in his eyes. Elias scrambled backwards, trying to escape the wolf. His hand fell into a hole and he toppled back to the ground as the wolf leapt.  
The neko’s side exploded in pain as the wolf’s teeth stabbed into him. As the wolf released him, licking its lips, Elias’ vision darkened.  
The beast lunged again, and a bright light exploded around the two. Dimly the neko saw a man walking toward him, skin the colour of burnished copper. Struggling to maintain conscious, Elias realized the man had triangular ears and a tail, the same colour as his skin- no, his fur.  
The last thing he saw before he passed out was the man leaning over him.


	2. Captain Artemis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias awakes to find himself in a strange room. Hopefully, the tiger that took him is friendly

The world was bright beyond the neko’s eyelids. He felt strange, in a good way, as if Danuva had just healed him. Elias was cold, naked, but otherwise healthy.  
Someone spoke nearby, but he couldn’t understand the strange garbling sounds. A moment after they ended, another voice spoke, this time in a tongue Elias could understand.  
“Welcome back to the world of the living. I am pleased to see I got you to the chamber in time.”  
Elias opened his eyes and hurriedly closed them again, nearly blinded by the strange torch that hung from the ceiling. His mind raced, trying to piece together the final moments before his blackout.  
“Where is Quarian?” he finally croaked out, his throat sore and dry.  
His… rescuer? Captor? Spoke again, and the monotone voice translated the garbled words once more.  
“I do not know this Quarian of which you speak. You are safe here. If you can sit up, I will do my best to explain what has happened.”  
The neko did as he was told, hearing a strange buzzing, like that of a wasp, as his back rose from its rest. He opened his eyes again, squinting in the bright light, somehow almost as bright as daylight.  
He saw a man- no, a neko of some sort, standing near a doorway, the only egress he could see from the strange cell he found himself in. Elias remembered him from the fight with the wolf. Now that he wasn’t falling unconscious, the neko studied the man. He had honey coloured stripes running lengthwise over his arms and his face was slightly elongated. He was dressed in a dark leather suit, a white bracelet on his left wrist.  
The man approached slowly, a cup in his hand. He spoke quietly, handing the cup to Elias as the translator went to work.  
“Drink. You have been in… for a week.”  
In what? Elias hesitantly took the cup and sipped at the liquid. It was water, but it had a strange, almost bitter flavour. He realized the voice was coming from the bracelet on the man’s wrist, and he stared at the jewellery suspiciously.  
“My name is Artemis. I know you will have a lot of questions and I will try to answer them as best as I can. I noticed you do not speak often. I hope you will see fit to change that with me. I will never ridicule you for anything you say.”  
Elias shivered slightly and Artemis frowned, or at least it looked like he did.  
“You are cold. I will get you clothes,” he said. “Stay here. I will be back shortly.”

The tiger dug through a dresser, irritated. He had to be almost a foot taller than the neko. There was nothing here that would fit appropriately.  
This whole operation was foolish and Artemis had known it before he even started. He should have left the system when he found the inhabited planet. It was standard operating procedures and he had been about to jump out when his sensors had picked up the neko’s voice.  
There was something about the man that called to the tiger, something beyond the poor lot the neko had been dealt in life. He had left countless planets where that had been the case and even on this planet there were those worse off than this creature.  
He couldn’t leave the neko behind. But he also was prohibited from contacting the neko unless the man was about to die. And so he had waited almost a month, hoping the neko would get in trouble, though the very thought terrified him. There was so much that could go wrong with a rescue.  
There was still so much that could go wrong, even now. He would only be allowed to keep the neko on his ship for another two weeks before he needed to ask if the man wanted to return to his world. It was a protection against slavery, and though he was sure many pilots ignored the requirement, he would follow the law. He didn’t want to keep the neko against his will.  
Sighing quietly, the tiger took out a purple shirt. It should cover the neko well enough. Closing the dresser, Artemis hurried back through his ship, heading for the medical bay.

Elias let the shirt drape over his body, covering himself.  
“Forgive me for disrobing you. The… does not work if the patient is wearing clothes.”  
There was that strange pause again, almost as if the strange voice didn’t have the word for what it was saying.  
Artemis took a deep breath, his ears betraying how nervous he was.  
“If you desire it, I will return you to your home. But I would ask you to wait for a week’s time before asking me to return you. I wish to show you the joy of my life, and the freedom of… a ship.”  
“I will do as you command Master.”  
Artemis grimaced.  
“I am not, and never will be, your master. I would much rather be a friend.”  
He held out his hand to Elias, and the neko took it hesitantly.  
“Come, let me show you around.”  
Elias allowed himself to be led from the room, jumping as a hiss sounded behind him. Turning his head he saw a strange metal door blocking the path they had come through.  
“Sorry. I should have warned you the doors here open and close by themselves,” Artemis apologised.  
The neko shook off his surprise and continued following the tiger through a narrow hall. Another door hissed open, and Elias fought his shock down.  
“Everything on this ship, everything that you will see, is a lot more advanced than what you know from before,” Artemis said. “This is the cabin.”  
Elias looked through the doorway, finding a small room with a bed somehow tucked inside the far wall. A desk sat to the right, a strange, small, flat object laying on top of it.  
“Feel free to come here whenever you want. I know a lot of this might be a little much for you,” Artemis said. “We will be sharing this cabin for a while. If you decide to stay with me, I will try to get another cabin set up as soon as possible.”  
Tugging lightly on Elias’ hand, the tiger walked further down the hall. Another door opened, on the left side of the hall and Elias saw a white tub inside, a large chamberpot of intricate design beside it.  
“There is a… next to the door on the inside to keep the door closed while you are inside,” Artemis explained before they continued the tour.

He should have let the neko’s hand go already. But it felt so good to hold it. Intertwining his fingers through the man’s, Artemis brought the neko to the cockpit of his starship. The walls were blocked, preventing the neko from seeing his planet below the ship. A sensor beeped quietly on a panel on a wall, reminding Artemis that he needed to restock his water supply. The liquid in the ship was getting rather rancid; there was only so many times you could purify the same water.  
He had been right; the neko was dwarfed in his shirt. But he was covered, and that was the important thing. It would be hard to work with the neko distracting Artemis with his body. Already he had to stop himself from running his hands through the neko’s curly black hair, or petting the calico tail that protruded from his backside.  
“You never told me your name,” the tiger said as he stood before the ship radar.  
“Elias,” the neko said quietly.  
They were orbiting around the planet, the ship on an auto-path that was safe with the lack of satellites. There was no real reason for Artemis to study the radar; he was in uncharted space, and there would be no ships within twenty light-years that would contest him. He continued staring at the screen merely to avoid focusing too much on Elias.  
“Are you hungry Elias?” he asked, barely catching the neko’s silent nod.  
Releasing Elias’ hand, he turned from the radar and crossed the cockpit, passing into another room. He heard the neko’s feet quietly shuffling after him.  
“I do not have food that you will be familiar with, but I hope you will find the dish enjoyable all the same,” he said, sticking his hand on a pad in the wall of the kitchen.  
A minute passed and a plate of meat and vegetables appeared on the counter, eliciting a yelp from Elias.  
“Don’t worry, it’s safe,” Artemis assured him. “Eat up. We need to take on fresh water. There’s going to be some minor tremors in the ship, but it is nothing to be afraid of. We are perfectly safe.”  
He made sure the neko was sitting in a chair, the plate in front of him. Exiting the room, he made sure the door was closed behind him. Sitting in a chair in the cockpit, the tiger pulled up a map of the planet below them and picked a spot beside the ocean. Slowing his ship, the tiger grinned as he felt gravity pull the vessel downward. Planetary landings were always fun, if also a little stressful at times.  
An alarm alerted him to their re-entry into the atmosphere and Artemis flipped a switch beside a small chip in the curved wall in front of him.  
The wall vanished from sight, revealing the planet rushing up to meet them. Placing his hands around the control stick between his legs, Artemis pulled the ship out of its freefall, scanning his sensors for the direction of his landing point.  
Turning the ship, Artemis tensed against the gravity exerted on his body from the manoeuvre. His mind flashed briefly back to Elias, concerned for the neko’s safety in the kitchen. He should be fine, but then again he was new to the world of flight. His body probably wouldn’t be able to take any fancy spins.  
Pointing the nose of the vessel down five degrees, Artemis watched a canyon approach at a rapid pace. He levelled the ship and watched the ground speed past. The water he sought appeared on the horizon and Artemis reduced his speed slightly, angling to the left to line up with his destination.  
The sounds of the engines, absent in the vacuum of space, covered the sound of a door opening. But it did little to mask the sound of a scream.  
Artemis jerked in his seat, the ship snapping to the left as his hand slipped on the controls.  
“Fuck!”


	3. The Ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis shows his new companion around his home. Elias has a lot to learn

“Elias… Elias…”  
The neko groaned, his eyes opening. The first thing he saw were stars, twinkling, calling to him. Blearily the neko reached up, trying to catch a shooting star. The sound of waves crashing on a beach distracted him from his quest, and he sniffed the air, smelling salt and fish. He was… at the ocean?  
“Elias.”  
Elias stiffened at his name. That was the voice from his dream, the sound of a mouth full of rocks… and then the strange voice speaking his own language after.  
“Come on, you should sit up.”  
Strong hands grabbed his shoulders, helping the neko up, and Elias stared at the tiger warily. The voice was real. Was the rest of it too? Had he just fallen from… from the sky?  
“I am sorry, I was trying to wait for the right time to show you,” Artemis grimaced.  
They were gone from the building he had seen the tiger in. There was a strong breeze blowing around them, filling them both with a slight chill. Elias realized the shirt he wore was riding up over his midsection, and he yanked it back down, covering himself.  
“I am… not from your world,” Artemis said uncomfortably. “I come from far away, a place where people can fly like birds. We know how to reach the stars.”  
Elias’ ears flattened. This man was a wizard, a magic user. The neko had known a man like that once, a man who took pleasure in using his spells to hold Elias down while he fucked him.  
The neko’s fist closed around a handful of sand. He would die before he let another mage have their way with him.  
Almost as if he read Elias’ mind, Artemis held up his hands.  
“I am not going to hurt you,” the tiger promised. “If you tell me you want me to let you rejoin this world, I will let you go. But I would like to show you the… You can still return at any time; just give me the word and I will bring you back.”  
The tiger held out a hand to Elias, and the neko struck.  
His arm whipped forward, releasing the sand into Artemis’ eyes, and he darted past the tiger, scurrying towards several large boulders.  
Darting around a rock, Elias gasped. A strange building stood behind the boulder, black as the night surrounding him. It stood on four spindly legs, a ramp lowered to give access to its belly. The thing was massive, bigger than the inn in Astara, and torches burned all around it, lighting the area near the ramp, but giving off no smoke.  
“We can visit other worlds, see the light of stars you have never seen before.”  
Elias whirled around, stooping to grab a rock. Artemis stood back, rubbing sand out of his fur.  
“You were a slave on this planet. You will never be a slave again if you come with me. I will make sure of it.”  
Elias’ eyes narrowed.  
“You know I am a slave?”  
Artemis shook his head.  
“No. You were a slave. Your freedom was purchased by that man in Astara. It is illegal for people to take slaves from a less... advanced world. You will never be owned by another person if you come with me.”  
The tiger took another step forward, and Elias stepped back. His foot struck a strange material and the neko fell backwards. A pair of arms caught him before he could hit the ground and set him back upright.  
“Careful,” Artemis whispered, his arms wrapped around the neko protectively.  
Elias squirmed free from the tiger and Artemis glanced down, his own ears conveying a sense of shame.  
“I am sorry,” the tiger said quietly.  
The neko walked toward the starship, touching it nervously. It was metal, and warm to the touch, despite the coolness of the night air.  
He was scared of the mage. The man could take him whenever he wanted. But maybe Elias could use him. It wasn’t the first time he had done it.  
Forcing himself to speak, the neko met the tiger’s eyes, trying to sound confident.  
“If I go with you, I want you to do something for me.”  
“If I am able to, then you have my word it will be done,” Artemis said.  
Elias took a deep breath, knowing he was selling himself again, and this time he could never go back.  
“Te Hara pei Arudan. Destroy it.”

Artemis smiled slightly as Elias demanded he help him. The neko had some confidence hidden away in his quiet self.  
The smile vanished abruptly as he heard what the neko wanted.  
“Elias, this is an exploration ship. I only have a single weapon on the hull and a small personal weapon. I cannot attack a fortress on my own.”  
Elias wilted, his confident act evaporating. Artemis sighed as he thought. This would break several laws if he did it. But no one would find out, right? And Elias wanted it, but the neko didn’t know what it was he was asking.  
“Do you know where this Hall of Blood is?” he questioned.  
“The elf said something about Ceos.”  
The tiger sighed. It was something to go on at least.  
“Very well. We will go back onto the ship and I will begin searching for this place. It may take some time, but I promise I will help your friends take it.”  
He motioned toward the ship, watching Elias take a fortifying breath. The neko stepped onto the ramp and Artemis followed him on board. Hitting a panel on the wall, Artemis made sure the ramp was closed before turning to the neko.  
“Do you want to watch me take off?” he asked.  
Elias shrugged.  
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m sure there will be other departures and landings. Flying off a planet is easier than landing on one, but both are pretty fun. If you don’t want to join me in the cockpit, you should head to the cabin. We’ll be in orbit in twenty minutes.”  
The tiger walked down the hall, his feet padding softly through the ship. This was his home and he loved it. But it was old when he bought the ship. Now that he had the neko on board, he needed to look into using some of the money granted to him by the IEFL to upgrade to a slightly larger, newer vessel. He’d look into it during his next port visit, provided Elias went with him.  
Sitting back in his chair, Artemis began hauling in the hose Elias had tripped over. He hadn’t completely filled the water tanks, but there was enough. The benefit of refiltering water was never running out.  
Artemis spotted Elias standing in the doorway of the cockpit as he went through his checklist of supplies. Smiling at the neko, the tiger motioned towards the engine switch.  
“Would you press that button please?” he requested.  
Elias shuffled towards the button, staring at the object suspiciously.  
“Go on, it won’t bite,” Artemis chuckled.  
The neko touched the switch and yanked his hand back.  
“No, you have to push it,” Artemis explained.  
He walked over to the neko and took his hand gently. Pressing Elias’ finger into the button, he smiled as the engines whirred to life. With a coughing roar, the ship started, and Elias squeaked, retreating back to the doorway.  
Completing his checks, Artemis sat back down. The ship lifted into the air a moment later and the tiger pushed up the throttle. Soon they were roaring into the sky, Elias’ eyes as wide as dinner plates.

The neko sat in the bathtub, water falling into his lap like so much warm rain. Everything on the ship seemed like it was out to get him. Even this room of falling water felt ominous.  
Artemis had asked him to take a… a shower and Elias had to comply. He had been sitting under the rain for ten minutes now, unsure of when he would be allowed out. The neko’s ears were folded down to keep the liquid out of them and his tail twitched in annoyance. It was bad enough to be stuck in a bathtub, but having water cascading on him from above was just too much.  
The door hissed open, revealing Artemis standing on the other side, his hand poised to knock.  
“Oh. You did not lock the door.”  
Elias shrugged, water tumbling off his shoulders.  
“Are you finished? We need to conserve some water. It takes a couple of hours to...” the tiger said.  
Elias nearly tripped in his haste to get out of the tub. A startled Artemis handed him a towel, turning away to give the neko some privacy.  
“Get dressed, I want to show you something,” the tiger said, walking down the hall.  
Elias dried his hair and slipped the purple shirt over his slender frame once more. Following Artemis, he stopped outside the sleeping quarters, the tiger bending over the bed.  
There was a tiny click and the wall around the bed vanished, revealing the darkness of space around them. The neko stepped into the room, mesmerized by the view.  
“I like sleeping with the stars in sight,” Artemis said. “I know it is strange that the captain of a starship wants to be reminded he is in the vastness of space, but I find it comforting.”  
“There’s so many of them…”  
“Yes, it is easier to see the stars when you are off-planet. There are a few of these switches around the ship that can make the walls…”  
The tiger took a step back.  
“You should get some sleep; it has been a long day. Tomorrow we will start looking for your hall.”

Artemis sighed wearily, reflecting that it was better not knowing something was out there.  
He and Elias had been scanning the planet for three days now. On the one hand, Elias seemed to be more comfortable with the ship now, no longer quite so terrified by the flushing of the toilet. On the other hand, Artemis was going crazy trying to find a needle in a haystack.  
Normally he would enjoy a mission like this, a good challenge for him and his ship. But there was no profit from this unless he counted Elias, and doing so made him feel like the neko was his property. No, Elias was no profit.  
There was a quiet beep and Elias jumped at the sound. Artemis smirked slightly as he hit a button to see what his computer had picked up.  
“-cut them off at Ceos, but if we wait we’ll have the help of the fortress. Both can be weakened, we can kill the upstart and take the fortress ourselves. If twenty bandits have held off the king’s army for over a year, ten werewolves should have no trouble at all.”  
“Do you know that voice?” Artemis asked.  
Elias shook his head no.  
“Well, we found someone who can lead us to Ceos,” Artemis sighed. “It’s a start.”


	4. The Hall of Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias must make a decision that will affect his future

Artemis stretched out with a yawn, wincing as his back cracked. A week of sleeping in the pilot chair was killing him, but there was no way he would share the bed in the cabin with Elias. The neko deserved to have his own bed, and giving him that was worth some discomfort.  
The tiger was reasonably certain he had found Elias’ mystery fortress, but he needed to be positive before launching any kind of weapon at it. What he was planning was illegal, but with luck, no one would ever hear of it. He was more likely to get in trouble for abducting Elias.  
Turning on his audio sensors, the tiger padded softly to the bathroom. Returning to the cockpit, he found Elias standing next to the pilot seat, listening to voices. The neko had a small smile on his face as he turned to face the tiger.  
“That’s the prince. Quarian is near.”  
“Good. Are they at the Hall yet?”  
Elias shook his head, done talking. He had talked though, and Artemis was happy to hear his voice. Eventually, he’d talk more and if he didn’t the tiger didn’t mind. Maybe they could find other ways to communicate.  
“At this location, the local time should be noon,” Artemis said. “They are stopped for lunch?”  
Elias nodded, startled that Artemis knew they were eating lunch.  
“We have some time then. I think I know where the fortress is, but I don’t want to do anything until we know for sure. For now, we’ll keep following them. Is the other group still nearby?”  
Elias nodded again.  
“I wonder who they are. They’re heading to the fortress at any rate, or they would have stopped in the city. And they, or at least some of them, are shapeshifters. This is going to get messy either way.”  
The tiger sat in the pilot’s chair with a sigh.  
“Elias, I’ve thought about this. I can get in trouble for helping you do this. You’ll have to help your friends on your own. I will show you how to use the ship’s mining laser because if you come with me you’ll need to know how to use that anyways. If you just so happen to aim it at a certain fortress while practising, I don’t think I’d be fast enough to stop you.”  
Elias smiled at the tiger’s words and Artemis smiled back. He may be a bit of a mute, but no one could accuse the neko of being dumb.

A low whistle startled Elias as he lined up another shot on the dark side of the moon. He looked up from the strange window that showed the moon, meeting Artemis’ eyes. Kind, gentle eyes that drew him in.  
Elias glanced away, not noticing the look of admiration in the tiger’s eyes.  
“You are a natural at this,” Artemis said, pointing at the target he had painted on the moon’s surface.  
Every one of Elias’ shots had hit within ten feet of the centre, almost as close as Artemis could do with years of training.  
“A… natural?” the neko repeated uncertainly.  
“Yes, you are really good,” Artemis explained.  
Elias smiled, lowering his head in embarrassment.  
“I marked the group’s last location. We’ll be back there in an hour, and you can set up on the fortress. Pick your shot carefully; you’ll only get one.”  
Artemis returned to his seat and began manoeuvring the ship around the moon. Elias watched the tiger as he flew, studying his calm demeanour, and the way he constantly scanned his instruments to avoid hitting an obstacle.  
Turning back to his own window, Elias watched as the stars shifted in the sky around him. Stars shifting…  
“It was you,” he blurted.  
Artemis glanced up from his work.  
“Hmm?”  
“You were the blinking star,” Elias said more subdued.  
“Oh… yeah. I sort of followed you for a while before I rescued you from that shapeshifter.”  
“Why?”  
Artemis looked a little pleased, if also embarrassed by the question.  
“I… I think it was your voice. You have a nice voice,” the tiger said.  
“Oh.”  
Elias turned back to his star gazing, confused. He had a nice voice? But before he met Artemis he had always been told to be silent. Even Danuva, as nice as he had been, never gave him permission to speak.  
“I like hearing your voice,” Artemis admitted. “It would please me if you spoke more.”  
Elias stiffened at the words, the words of his master.  
“Yes sir,” he said quietly.

Artemis slowed the vessel to a halt over the planet, double checking his coordinates to make sure he was at the right spot. The group they had been trailing were below, barely a mile from the fortress gates and the other group of shifters was another two miles distant, and closing.  
“Elias,” Artemis said, grabbing the neko’s attention. “You have had over a week to decide whether you wish to stay on board the ship or not. I am going to take a nap for a few hours, and when I wake, I will be jumping into light speed. If you desire to remain behind, you must tell me before then. I will land you in a city of your choice, with your old clothes and your memories of myself and my ship wiped from your mind. Should you decide to remain on my- our- ship, we will head to the nearest port, thirty light years from here. It will be the last time you see this planet, but there will be other planets and other homes to explore.”  
Elias nodded, then stiffened slightly, before saying, “Yes sir.”  
The tiger shook his head.  
“None of this sir business either. My name is Artemis. Do what you need to regarding your friends. I will be in the cabin if you need me.”  
Artemis passed through the door out of the cockpit, trusting the neko with his ship. It would be a relief to sleep in his own bed again, and not for the last time, the tiger reflected that if Elias came with him they would need a larger ship. Even if the neko didn’t join him he might get a larger ship anyways.  
The tiger pulled his shirt off, but left his pants on, in case Elias needed him suddenly. Flipping the walls around his bed to transparent, Artemis climbed into his little den and curled up, watching the stars.   
He was admittedly nervous leaving Elias to his own devices, but the tiger knew the neko didn’t trust him. He hoped letting him have unrestricted run of the ship would help Elias trust him more, or at least let the neko feel at peace with his surroundings.  
Artemis wasn’t tired, but he needed to sleep. The jump into faster than light travel required travel into a universe that didn’t follow the same laws as this universe. Setting the portal into the other realm required a lot of concentration and the tiger needed to be well rested.  
Reaching into his dresser, the tiger removed a green chip from a drawer full of various coloured chips. Removing the black translator chip from his bracelet, the tiger replaced it with the green chip. A tiny clock appeared in the air above the chip, and Artemis messed with a couple of dials on the chip, setting the chip for a low dose of sleeping powder that would give him three hours of rest provided no one woke him.  
Pulling his blanket over his body, the tiger yawned as the powder took effect and his eyes closed.

Elias stared through the viewing glass, watching Quarian adjust the sword on the elf’s back. The neko was struggling with what he had to do. He had now been with the tiger longer than he had with Danuva and Quarian. Did he really owe them anything?  
They had rescued him from the inn, but they had bought him too. He had been Danuva’s slave, just as he was now Artemis’ slave. And a slave’s job was to make life easier for his master. Artemis had already told him he could get in trouble if Elias tried to help Danuva. But he was letting him anyways. It confused the neko.  
Artemis had been kind to him, aside from kidnapping him and locking him away from his planet, but he had made it clear Elias was still his slave, even if not in name. Was it all an act? Would the tiger punish him if he fired the weapon at the fortress?  
The neko tracked the group as they walked toward the fortress, puzzling these things out in his mind. He watched them get stopped by a guard, centering the mining weapon over the archer’s head. Artemis said he’d only get one shot. He needed to make it count.  
The gates to the fortress opened and a young neko stumbled out. Elias’ fingers slipped on the weapon’s controls as he recognised the face of his sister, Naia.  
Holding his breath without realizing it, the neko continued tracking the group as Naia led them through the fortress, stopping in front of a woman. Words were exchanged and Elias growled as the woman slapped his sister. That settled it.  
The neko centered his weapon again, aiming for the woman who held Naia a captive. He barely held himself back from firing right then and there.  
Quarian suddenly turned on Sandolin, blinding him with his own cape and grabbing the sword from his back. Elias didn’t blink as the werewolf shoved the elven prince to the ground. He figured they had planned this all out.  
The woman stepped forward, laughing. The neko saw a guard nocking an arrow to his string off to the side, and he knew he needed to act now.  
Double checking his aim quickly, Elias fired the laser.

Three hours after he had fallen asleep, the timer on Artemis’ bracelet reached its end. The bracelet stopped emitting its powder and a minute later, the tiger’s eyes opened groggily. Sitting up in his bed, Artemis swung his feet around, his toes curling in the soft rug on the floor.  
Taking a moment to yawn, the tiger stood and pulled on a shirt, barely remembering to switch back to the translator chip before he left the room. The door to the cabin hissed open as he walked through, directing his feet toward the cabin.  
Artemis scanned the room, missing the neko.  
“Elias?” he called quietly.  
Walking into the kitchen, the tiger frowned, finding it also bare of life.  
“Elias?!”  
Returning to the cockpit, Artemis brought up a holographic model of the ship, setting scanners to detect lifeforms. He saw a red dot in one of the holding bays and his heart dropped. Those bays were rarely heated. If the neko was there he could be frozen solid.  
Rushing through the hall, Artemis grabbed a blanket from his bed. Racing into the entry bay, Artemis nimbly climbed up a ladder, nearly slipping as he reached the top.  
Listening carefully as he walked through the cargo area, the tiger stopped outside the room full of probes. Opening the door, he found the neko curled up on the rack of probes, shivering.  
“Hey, what are you doing up there?” Artemis asked quietly.  
Elias stared at him blankly.  
“If you wanted to sleep there are much better spots for it. Why don’t you come down here and we’ll get you warmed up?”  
“I killed her…”  
The words startled Artemis, until he remembered what the neko had planned.  
“That was the point, wasn’t it?” he said.  
The cat carefully climbed up the stack of probes, draping the blanket over Elias’ shoulders. He was starting to feel the chill himself, but he ignored it as he tried to coax the neko down.  
“You watched her for a while. Did she seem like a good person to you?”  
Elias shook his head no.  
“Do you think that she would have hurt people if she was still alive?”  
A shrug.  
“Did you save your friends by killing her?”  
There was a pause, and then Elias nodded, frozen tears glistening on his face.  
“Then you did something good, even if it might not feel like it now.”  
Holding out his hand, Artemis waited until Elias took it. Helping him off the probes, the tiger wrapped the blanket tighter around the neko and led him from the bay.  
Climbing down the ladder into the entrance bay, Artemis waited for Elias below. The neko placed his foot on the top rung of the ladder and slipped, crying out.  
Artemis caught the cat before he hit the ground and helped him upright.  
“You’re okay,” he whispered, embracing the smaller cat.  
Elias stiffened in his arms, and Artemis drew back quickly.  
“I’m sorry,” he said, motioning for the neko to walk ahead of him.  
Nudging Elias into the kitchen, Artemis pressed his hand into the scanner on the wall, mentally requesting a hot drink. It appeared a minute later, steam rising from the mug, and the tiger handed it to Elias.  
“Drink it slowly,” he warned. “It can be quite potent.”  
Elias stared at the mug suspiciously, then sipped at it, gasping as he burned his tongue on the liquid. Artemis stared at the neko, trying to memorize every detail of his face, before the neko chose to return planetside.  
Sighing wearily, the tiger spoke.  
“Like I said earlier, I’m heading out of the system within the hour. I would like for you to join me, but I will not force you.”  
The neko’s ears drooped sorrowfully.  
“You saved me from that wolf,” he said quietly. “I belong to you now, and my place is at your side.”  
“No!”  
Artemis slammed his hand on the table and Elias squeaked in shock, his drink spilling over his hands.  
“You are not a slave. You will never be a slave again. Didn’t Danuva free you?”  
Elias stared at him with fearful eyes, his ears laid back on his head.  
“I have never wanted a slave in my entire life, and that is not changing now. Now, let me rephrase the entire situation.”  
Artemis sighed at the look in the neko’s eyes, the deepest, most vibrant blue eyes he had ever seen.  
“If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would you want to go?”

Elias shook under the tiger’s gaze, curling into a ball in his seat. The question shocked him; he had never thought about what he wanted, besides a master who was kind. He had been a slave all his life, and it was hard to realize that perhaps he really was free, even if he didn’t feel free at the moment.  
The tiger really was giving him a choice, and glancing back up at Artemis’ eyes, Elias knew he wouldn’t be punished for his decision in any way.  
What did he want? The neko had no true home; it had been stolen from him when he had been sold into slavery at the ripe old age of six years. He had no real friends; even Danuva and Quarian had been nothing more than kind strangers.  
But Artemis wanted to take him away from everything he had ever known.  
Suddenly the enormity of his choice hit the neko. His breath became laboured, his stomach cramped. Artemis held out his hand and Elias clutched it for dear life, trying to calm himself.  
He would never see home again. But it had never really been his home. If anything it had been his prison. He had no place to call his own.  
And the stars called to him. He had always dreamed of being free like them, able to rise above anything. And here was a person offering that very freedom.  
“I want to see the stars,” the neko said quietly, his decision made.


	5. Faster than Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuck aboard a flying ship, feelings begin emerging in our characters

Artemis let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.  
“When you’re finished with your hoka come speak with me. We have a lot to discuss, you and I,” he smiled.  
Standing, the tiger left the kitchen and sat at the pilot chair. He pointed the ship away from the planet below and switched seats, sitting at a computer in the cockpit. Artemis began typing rapidly on a holographic keyboard, listening to the hum of the ship as it reacted to his touch. The portal was powering up, preparing to jump them into the other universe.  
Spinning his seat to the right, Artemis powered up his light drive, slowly increasing the throttle of the ship until it approached the speed of light.  
The tiger walked around the ship, ensuring every viewport was closed. There would be nothing to see outside when they hit light speed, and already, just fifteen minutes into speeding up, the stars outside were dimming as the ship caught up to the light they emitted.  
Locking the door to the landing bay, the tiger ran into Elias as he reentered the cockpit.  
“Do you need me to do anything?” the neko asked.  
“Not this time. This is your first jump, and I want you to enjoy it,” Artemis said. “The next time we jump, you can help out.”  
Striding to the computers, the tiger sat down and typed in the command to create a portal. The computer whirred and the air around them seemed to thicken. Heat enveloped the ship, and Elias hissed in pain as his hand brushed against one of the walls.  
“This is the worst part of every jump, getting the portal created. Once we’re through, the ship will cool down gradually.”  
Artemis increased the speed of the ship just slightly, and the heat increased with their speed, nearly roasting the two. Suddenly the computer whirred down and fell silent once more.  
The heat slowly dissipated, though it left both Elias and Artemis glistening with sweat.  
“Welcome to a new universe,” Artemis grinned.  
Elias stared at him, his eyes widening.  
“It’s a parallel dimension, though not everything is the same. There’s a risk coming through the portals that you’ll run into a body, but the risk is astronomically low.”  
Artemis turned to the other computer, bringing their speed down to normal space. Checking the radar, he found that they were around a light minute from the sun, an M class star of some heat.  
“Perfect,” he smiled with satisfaction. “We’ll refuel and I’ll get us going on our way. It will take us about an hour to fuel up. Not to be a perv, but you might want to remove your shirt for this,” he added. “We need to get rather close to the star to scoop.”  
The tiger turned back to his work, aiming the ship toward the star. Increasing their speed to a quarter light speed, he waited about twenty seconds before shutting the throttle down.  
The ship coasted to a stop, heating up again. Artemis flipped a switch, and Elias heard a thunk from somewhere in the bowels of the ship.  
“Fuel scoop,” Artemis explained. “We have to get the hydrogen somehow.”  
The neko looked more confused than before, and Artemis had to remind himself that the translator didn’t always have the words needed to explain certain procedures. That would change when they reached the port.

Elias entered the cabin and removed the shirt Artemis had given him. He lay in the bed, careful not to touch the walls.  
It was done, his choice made. There was no going back now, just as there was no taking back that shot that had sliced the woman in half.  
The neko shuddered, squeezing his eyes tight against the images his brain seemed intent on forcing him to see. His sister was safe, with Danuva. She would be in safe hands, caring hands. Artemis was right, the human had freed him. He would do the same for Naia.  
Sweat ran in streams down Elias’ body. He felt hotter than he ever had during the hottest summer at home- no, on his old planet. If this was a common occurrence on the ship, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t have been better off back on the planet.  
The neko rolled so he was facing the wall, the heat of the metal radiating over his face. He liked basking in the sun as much as the next cat, but this was ridiculous. He couldn’t sleep like this.  
The door opened behind him, and he heard Artemis say, “If you want to take a shower you’ll be first up after we leave the… zone.”  
The door closed again and Elias groaned, rolling onto his back. Truly this was hell.

The computer beeped, signalling a safe route was plotted to their destination, some 42 light years distant. A second beep followed quickly, and Artemis flipped the switch to recall the fuel scoop. Fuel days were the worst, but fortunately, they only occurred around once a week when at cruising speed.  
He turned the nose of the ship away from the star and pushed the throttle up just slightly. It would take a while to get away from the heat of the sun, and then another hour to reach their max speed, but they were on their way already. He hoped Elias would be happy with his choice.  
An image of the neko’s backside leapt into his mind and the tiger sighed. He did not need any lustful thoughts complicating things with the cat right now. Elias barely trusted him as it was.  
But his ass was so perfect, curvy in all the right ways and still slender.  
“Enough…” Artemis growled, standing.  
He paced the cockpit, trying to force the errant thoughts back down. With limited success.  
Feeling the heat of the star lessen, the tiger returned to his seat and increased the speed of the ship. Turning until the ship was facing the path the computer had made, Artemis continued adding speed, hitting light speed and then passing it.  
This was the entire reason for travelling into an entirely different universe. Here light speed didn’t increase the mass of the ship or take any extra energy. Here they could surpass light speed and not have to worry about whether the people on either side of the journey would be dead long before they got there. It made everything much simpler to be able to treat light speed as just another stepping stone like the speed of sound for atmosphere bound craft.  
Artemis let the autopilot take over. He wouldn’t have to touch the controls for almost two days, save for an emergency. It was rare that he travelled these distances in one leap; usually, he would find a new system and spend around a month mapping everything it the system before moving on to the next star.  
The tiger walked silently into the kitchen and set about making a meal for himself. Elias seemed like he needed some sleep and Artemis could understand that. He’d had an exhausting day today. When the neko decided to leave the cabin Artemis would explain things to him.  
For now, he pulled out his tablet and worked on his travel log while he ate, documenting meeting the neko and Elias’ two-week long probation. He omitted the whole laser thing. No one needed to hear about that.  
They would make a stop at the port and then Artemis planned to take Elias to his home planet for some R&R for both of them. There he would get the neko tested and possibly put him in a piloting school if the neko decided he was interested. He hoped he would.

Elias stretched out on the bed, purring quietly. He felt rested, well rested. It was a sensation he still wasn’t used to, even after two weeks on board the ship.  
Pulling his shirt on, the neko passed through the door into the hall. His stomach growling, he turned toward the cockpit to ask Artemis about breakfast.  
The door to the bathroom opened and the neko heard water falling in the shower. He glanced over and froze.  
Artemis stood in the shower, his ears folded down over his head. Elias stared at the tiger’s body, running his eyes down the pilot’s muscled back and swishing tail with honey coloured tip.  
Tearing his eyes away from the tiger’s naked body, Elias stumbled toward the cockpit, horrified to find his body reacting to the sight. This was wrong. A slave shouldn’t look at his master-  
“Stop it,” he hissed.  
He wasn’t a slave. He was not a slave. The neko kept repeating the words in his mind, hoping they’d stick.  
Elias glanced around the cockpit, looking for something, anything to occupy his mind while Artemis finished bathing. To his dismay, there was nothing he could find. He couldn’t even look outside. Artemis had blocked off all the windows.  
The door to the cockpit hissed open and the neko turned, coming face to face with the tiger. The still naked tiger.  
“Oh. You are awake,” Artemis said, shocked.  
Elias fought the downwards drift of his gaze, a losing battle, but Artemis suddenly realised the situation and hurried back to the cabin to grab some clothes.  
When he returned, the tiger motioned for Elias to sit in a chair.  
“So, I have been thinking about your situation. You are a stranger thrust into a strange land, so to speak. You could really use some help,” the tiger said. “The thing is I could also use help. Exploring for the IEFL is dull work most of the time, and I could use a friend to keep me company for the long haul. So what I propose is a partnership. I am willing to put up some credits to help you get started, learning as much as you can about exploring the galaxy before our next journey into the unknown.”  
Elias blinked, his mind still stuck on the tiger’s body. He shook his head, trying to clear it.  
“You do not want to?” Artemis asked in surprise.  
“No, sorry, my mind was on… something else,” Elias apologised.  
“Oh. Would you like to be partners?”  
The neko’s eyes widened.  
“What kind of partners?” he asked almost fearfully.  
“Business partners. I can get you into a good school, and you can learn a lot about flying to different stars.”  
Relieved, Elias nodded. He could do that.  
“We’ll each get half shares from turning in exploration..., grants from the Fleet, and any mining we do. It will take a few months to set everything up though. In the meantime, I will help you pay for schooling and housing, and you can pay me back any time.”  
Elias’ stomach grumbled loudly, and the tiger chuckled.  
“First thing’s first though. Let’s get you some food. Then it’s my turn to use the bed.”


	6. Grathur Port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias is separated from the captain, taken to be studied.

Elias stared wide-eyed through the metal glass of the cockpit, a space station filling the space before the ship. The port was enormous, a spinning orb easily twice the size of Astara.  
They drifted toward the glowing hole in the side of the station, Artemis expertly manoeuvring them into position. A voice suddenly filled the cockpit, and Elias bit back a yelp. He couldn’t understand the words, but Artemis replied quickly, and the tiger’s translator spoke for Elias’ benefit.  
“Grathur Port, this is Captain Artemis of the IEFL requesting docking.”  
More garbled words sounded through some kind of device beside Artemis and he replied.  
“Extra lifeform is a neko from an unknown world, rescued and cared for. He is here of his volition, and can be questioned once the necessary steps are taken.”  
There was a pause, then the voice spoke one more time.  
“Affirmative Grathur Port. Clearance to land on pad 24. Thank you and have a good day.”  
Turning to Elias, the tiger grinned.  
“I always try to be polite. You never know when someone might decide to crash you,” he said.  
Elias shuddered at the idea and Artemis chuckled.  
“Relax, they would not actually do that.”  
The ship slowed, floating toward the station’s opening as the tiger turned to Elias.  
“Listen, there is going to be a few things happening when we land. You are going to be taken for a day or two.”  
Elias shook his head quickly.  
“Do not worry, it is nothing bad,” Artemis reassured him just as quickly. “They are going to make sure you do not get sick from anywhere we go and put a… in you that will tell you everything anyone says. They will question you and you need to be honest with them. You should be brought back to me after you are done and I can show you around the port.”  
He frowned at the neko, at the purple shirt the man had been wearing for almost three weeks.  
“The first step will be to get you some clothes that fit,” he said.  
Elias looked down at his body, taking in the slim fragile frame. The shirt barely covered him, and for the first time in years, Elias felt shame at his near nudity.  
“Can I put on my pants?” he asked quietly.  
Artemis focused intently on the station for a moment, steering them through the hole.  
“I… threw them out the... It is standard procedure to get rid of anything that might have an unknown disease on it. …can not protect against everything. But I did save the necklace. I know it is important to you. If the ... say it is safe you will have it back.”  
Elias shivered as they passed through the glowing entrance to the station. Poking at a small hole in the shirt, he sighed. At least his mother’s necklace was safe, even if he didn’t have it.  
“You should sit,” Artemis said, before turning the ship.  
Elias stumbled, falling to the side. He grabbed the arm of the nearest chair and dragged himself into it, his eyes betraying his fear.  
“Stations have a device that exerts some minor… towards the walls. It helps secure ships to their…” Artemis explained. “Normally the ship has its own… to compensate for the lack of it in space, but I turn it off before we enter a… It keeps things from getting messy.”  
There was a loud thump and Artemis flipped a switch. With a groaning sigh, the ship fell silent, and the tiger stood up, towering over the neko.  
“Come on,” he smiled. “Let us introduce you to the universe.”

Artemis glanced outside before he lowered the ramp off the ship. There were three people standing at the end of the landing pad, and the tiger let out a sigh of relief. Aside from the Xanar standing to the side, the welcoming party for Elias didn’t seem too outlandish.  
He lowered the ramp and stepped out of the ship, waiting for Elias to catch up to him at the bottom. The neko seemed to draw into himself more at the sight of the aliens. Artemis gently took his hand and walked him up to the two scientists.  
“I am Captain Artemis. Are you the people sent to examine the neko under my care?”  
“We are. I assume you have collected data on the specimen’s speech?” the four-legged fox-shaped alien on the left questioned.  
“Of course,” Artemis replied. “He has not had much interaction with anyone outside his species, though he was in the presence of wolf shifters when I met him.”  
“I promise we will take every precaution with him,” the grey humanoid on the right said.  
The tiger turned to the neko, who was staring with a mixture of fear and interest at the large six-armed Xanar waiting on the side of the platform.  
“Elias, I need you to go with these two. They are going to look you over and make sure you are healthy,” Artemis said.  
The neko nodded, not taking his eyes off the alien.  
“When they bring you back to me we’ll get you some clothes that will actually fit,” Artemis promised.  
He regretted his words an instant later as Elias deflated inward, trying to hide his body.  
“You will be okay kitten,” Artemis whispered, hugging the neko impulsively.  
Elias stiffened under his touch and the tiger withdrew hurriedly. He motioned toward the two aliens, hesitatingly removing the translator chip from his bracelet.  
“We will need access to your logs to catalogue the language,” the fox said imperiously.  
Artemis nodded. He had nothing to hide there. Handing the chip to the humanoid, Artemis reached out one last time, ruffling Elias’ hair lightly, before the terrified neko was rushed away by the aliens.  
Turning to the Xanar, Artemis cleared his throat.  
“I will need to take on fuel and I need an extra bed added to the cabin. Water stores need to be replenished. Food supplies should be sufficient for one more trip.”  
“She’s a groaner,” the Xanar noted.  
“Yeah, but she’s been good to me,” Artemis smiled, patting a leg of the ship.  
“Are you taking the alien back out with you?”  
“Yes. That is the reason for the extra bed.”  
“I’ve had cat a few times. That’s a good catch.”  
Artemis growled quietly, his tail flicking in warning.  
“Just fill my supplies,” he snapped, storming off the landing pad.

Elias craned his neck, trying to keep Artemis in his sight as he was led away from the ship. He might not completely trust the tiger, but Artemis was the only person Elias knew on the station, and the neko was loath to be parted from him.  
The grey person on his right slipped something into a necklace around their neck and spoke, the necklace translating their words a moment later.  
“Greetings young neko. I am Scholar G’tara. Do you have a name I can call you?”  
“Elias…” the neko squeaked as they walked through another hissing door, Artemis gone from sight.  
“It is a pleasure to meet you Elias. I know you must be feeling a little worried. That is to be expected, but know that I and my colleague, Scholar Fantar, are only here to help you. There are some things I need you to tell me. First, what kind of planet did you come from?”  
The neko stared at the alien blankly. Undaunted, the being tried again.  
“Captain Artemis mentioned you were in the presence of wolf shifters. Can you tell us anything about them? Were they tied to the cycles of the moon?”  
Quarian had said something about the moon and everyone knew werewolves drew their power from the moon. Hesitantly, Elias nodded.  
Pleased, the alien continued.  
“Were there other kinds of people on your planet?”  
The neko nodded again.  
“Did all these people walk on two legs?”  
Another nod.  
“Can you tell us their names?”  
Elias hesitated.  
“We want to know in case someone else comes from your planet,” the alien said at the baulking neko.  
“There were humans and elves. And the werewolves,” Elias said quietly.  
“Werewolves,” the alien nodded. “Did one of them bite you?”  
Elias winced as the memory was drawn out of him, of teeth sinking into his flesh. He nodded, barely choking back a cry.  
“It is okay, I am sure Captain Artemis dealt with the... before you contracted the disease.”  
They walked through another set of doors and Elias blinked at the sudden brightness of the room he found himself in.  
Strange containers sat along either side of the room, at least a dozen in total. They looked similar to the one in Artemis’ ship, but they were larger, brighter.  
The grey alien pointed the neko to a container near the end of the hall, and Elias walked toward it, passing several containers with beings sleeping in them.  
“We need you to remove your shirt now,” the alien said.  
Elias shook his head, hands clamping shut on his clothing. Danuva had told him he’d never be forced to have sex again, and Artemis hadn’t forced sex on him either. Had the tiger just been saving him for these two?  
“Please Elias. We are just trying to help you. We’re like… Do you have them on your planet?”  
The neko looked around wildly, looking for a way out of the room, but he was in a strange place. There was nowhere to go where they would not find him.  
Shuddering, Elias removed his shirt, leaving himself bare to the world. The aliens began speaking to each other, but the translator seemed to be missing most of the words, leaving the neko naked, confused, and scared.  
“Elias, I am going to examine you now. This should not take very long, and it will be painless. Then we can get you into the… and you can go to sleep for a while. When you wake up, you will be all better and we will take you back to Captain Artemis.”  
Shivering, Elias closed his eyes. They would do what they wanted with him, but he would not watch them fuck him.  
Gentle hands touched his ears, the alien and translator speaking to the fox. The hands tugged at his hair, before moving down to the neko’s face. Elias had to fight the urge to bite the alien as the hands neared his mouth.  
The grey alien moved away and said, “Can you open your mouth please?”  
Elias did as he was commanded and a hand prodded at his teeth. Slowly the neko fell back into his upbringing, standing stiff and straight, keeping his hands from obscuring his body for his buyers could see all of him.  
“He seems to revert back to a slave’s handling,” the translator spoke, and Elias’ ears drooped. “Subject is self-conscious, shows normal behaviour expected of a... being.”  
The hand was withdrawn from his mouth, but Elias left it open, having not been told to close his mouth.  
“You can close your mouth,” the alien said a moment later when it was clear Elias wouldn’t on his own.  
They continued their tour of the neko’s body, seemingly oblivious to Elias’ discomfort. Those hands probed everywhere, poking into crevices Elias didn’t even know he had. When the alien’s fingers grasped his rod, the neko broke down.  
Elias crumpled to his knees, sobbing. Scooting backwards desperately, he curled into a ball, staring at his tormentors. He would be beaten, he knew, but at that point, he didn’t care.  
The aliens seemed to be arguing, but Elias only heard part of the grey alien’s words. He didn’t pay attention to them, his mind shutting down. They wouldn’t get him. They would not get him.


	7. The Collar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis buys a gift for Elias

The alien backed away from the neko, holding their hands up.  
“Okay, okay, we can finish this later,” they said hurriedly.  
The fox growled under his breath, and the grey alien glared at him.  
“Fontar, he is clearly terrified. The planet Captain Artemis discovered is clearly of no threat to us. I am sure we can afford to give Elias some time to recover.”  
The alien sat in front of Elias, their voice gentle, soothing. The translator didn’t change its tone, and the effect was lost on Elias.  
“I will not touch you any more. But I need you to get into the…”  
The neko stared warily, refusing to move.  
“Please. It is the easiest way to do this.”  
The fox barked something, and the alien turned on him.  
“No! We will not use that! It is…”  
The neko drew even further back into himself, feeling cramped. He was just making this worse for himself.  
The alien turned back to him.  
“We need you to lay down in here,” they said, touching the container Elias cowered under.  
Taking a deep breath, the neko uncurled slowly, cautiously. There was no point in making it worse for himself.  
Standing, Elias stared at the empty container, standing at chest height. The alien smiled encouragingly as he stepped onto a stool and crawled into the container.  
He heard the sound of a swarm of bees as his hands pressed into a strange substance. Shuddering, the neko rolled over and laid back into the stuff. It felt like water, but it seemed to hold him down somehow.  
There was a quiet hiss, and a glass wall appeared in front of the neko, cutting him off from the universe on the other side. The neko pulled his hand out of the substance, touching the glass in wonder. The inn in Astara had one window in it, a tiny square of glass with bubbles in it. This glass was clear, and it was huge.  
Sure, it wasn’t the most insane thing he had seen, but still, the glass reminded him that these beings could do whatever they wanted, and he was powerless to stop them.  
His breathing quickened, becoming laboured. Elias’ head felt heavy, darkness encroaching on his vision. With no warning, Elias fell back again, unconscious.

Artemis scanned the alley nervously as he entered. The place he was heading to was legal, but it was host to many unsavoury types.  
Stepping through a door, the tiger relaxed slightly in the well-lit store. He was the only one inside with the exception of the clerk.  
“Welcome,” the orange blob shaped alien said.  
“Hello. I’m… I’m looking for a collar.”  
It was hard dealing with some creatures, like this one. With no head, or even eyes, to look at, Artemis was missing the body language he could pick up from other beings. They were reliant on words, and misunderstandings in a situation like this could very well be deadly.  
“Do you have the being with you?” the alien asked.  
“Um, not exactly…” Artemis said uncomfortably.  
“I see.”  
‘Do you really?’ Artemis thought.  
“I will need a size and a type. Will the individual in question need training?”  
“Uh, I need to be sure he won’t do anything inappropriate. And he’s about my size,” the tiger said.  
“Is this your first time in an establishment of this nature?”  
“Yes.”  
“Hmm. Pardon me for saying so, but you don’t appear to have the temperament for breaking in a being. Nonetheless, I am happy to sell you a collar. May I measure your neck? If the individual you are buying for is about your size, your neck should be a good substitute for theirs.”  
Artemis agreed nervously and a device floated through the air toward him. A holographic measure appeared from it and wrapped itself around his neck before vanishing.  
The blob moved around the store, selecting a length of leather from a wall. The collar floated off the wall, a remote joining it as the alien brought them back to the counter Artemis stood at.  
“This should be the right size. There is a receiver inside that will emit a shock of varying degrees when the remote is activated.”  
“How much is it?” Artemis asked.  
“A thousand credits.”  
That seemed way too expensive, but Artemis had never bought one of these before. Given the nature of the purchase, maybe it was reasonable.  
The tiger slid a card through a block the blob handed him, adding his thumbprint to it. Accepting a bag with the collar in it, he thanked the alien and left the store.

His neck was sore.  
Elias’ eyes opened and he stared up at the ceiling. Why did his neck hurt? What did they do to him?  
The neko flexed his fingers, making sure he could move. The glass was missing above him, and he was grateful for that.  
Sitting up, he scanned the room. Most of the containers were empty, their lids open. A strange phrase entered Elias’ mind. Medical bay. He wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but the neko knew that it described this room.  
“You’re early.”  
Startled, Elias looked down, seeing the fox alien walking toward his… pod?  
“Scholar G’tara is retrieving your shirt and your necklace. They should be here shortly. There are a few more questions we need to ask you, then we will take you either back to Captain Artemis, or to a ship that will take you back to your world.”  
He could understand the fox. There was no voice speaking through a bracelet or necklace. He just… understood the alien’s language.  
“Your neck might be sore for a day. We implanted a translator chip in you. It will allow you to understand anything anyone says after you take a day to listen to the language. The translator needs time to sort out a language. Your chip is standard issue for any newcomer. It comes with the Common trading language already programmed in, so you should have little difficulty understanding anyone in a port.”  
The neko’s head spun with the information. He closed his eyes, taking a steadying breath as the door to the bay hissed open.  
“Ah, you’re awake! I trust Scholar Fontar has been discussing your translator with you?”  
Opening his eyes, Elias saw the grey alien striding towards him, a purple shirt hung over their arm. The alien handed him the shirt and, after a moment’s hesitation, the neko pulled it on.  
“Elias, we have a few questions we need to ask you, and we need you to answer with words. Okay?”  
The neko nodded, then froze.  
“Yes sir,” he forced out.  
A troubled look appeared across the alien’s face.  
“I’m not a sir Elias. My species has no gender,” they said. “I know you meant respect by it, but it is best not to use honorifics unless you know no harm will come of them.”  
“Sorry,” the neko whispered.  
“Here’s a tip though. If you see a person wearing a necklace similar to mine or Scholar Fontar’s, that means they have earned the designation of Scholar. That would be an appropriate honorific if you are unsure of what to use.”  
Scholar Fontar cleared his throat.  
“Getting back to business,” the fox pressed.  
“Yes. Now, you have nothing to fear from these questions. Captain Artemis will never be told your answers. Understand?” Scholar G’tara asked.  
Elias started to nod and stopped himself.  
“Yes, si- yes Scholar.”  
“Good. Now. Did Captain Artemis take you against your will?”  
“No.”  
The aliens glanced at each other in surprise.  
“Let me rephrase that,” Scholar Fontar said. “Did you agree to be taken off your planet when you first met Captain Artemis?”  
Elias shook his head no.  
“With words please,” Scholar G’tara reminded him.  
“No.”  
Nodding, Scholar Fontar continued.  
“When you realized Captain Artemis took you off your planet, did you wish to return?”  
“Yes.”  
“And did Captain Artemis ask you to wait for some time before returning?”  
“Yes.”  
Was he getting Artemis in trouble? Did it matter if he was? Artemis would never find out what he told them  
Lost in his thoughts, Elias missed the next question.  
“Elias?”  
Blinking, the neko returned to the present.  
“Do you still wish to return to your home planet?”  
He could go back? But he didn’t want to, except to see Naia again…  
“No,” he whispered.  
“You wish to remain with Captain Artemis?”  
“Yes.”  
“Very well. You will remain with Captain Artemis. We’ll take you back to his ship now. It is early in the day; he should be there now.”

An alarm roused Artemis from his uneasy slumber. Someone was approaching his ship.  
Jumping out of bed, the tiger hurried to the cockpit, bringing up a view of the outside of the ship. The scholars were walking toward the ship, a nervous neko between them.  
Making his way to the landing ramp, Artemis opened his ship and stepped outside.  
“Elias!”  
He didn’t know what he expected. Did he want the neko to run to him? Hug him?  
Elias did neither.  
The neko stiffened at Artemis’ voice, his eyes staring steadily at the floor as he approached the tiger.  
“Elias? Are you okay?”  
“Yes Artemis.”  
Artemis stopped Elias at the ramp, wincing as Elias flinched away from his touch. Kneeling in front of him, he sought out the neko’s cobalt eyes.  
“You are a free person Elias,” he said quietly. “If you don’t want to get on my ship, you don’t have to.”  
He was painfully aware of the scholars staring at the two of them.  
“Oh, Elias!” the grey alien called. “I forgot to give you your necklace.”  
Glancing warily at Artemis, Elias turned and hurried back to the alien. He took the necklace and hung it around his neck with trembling fingers, before returning to Artemis’ side.  
The tiger stood beside the neko for a moment, unsure of whether he should board his ship or not.  
“Um, thanks for helping Elias,” he called to the Scholars.  
Turning, he stepped up the ramp, trusting Elias to follow in his own time.

Elias sat on the bed- his own bed! Staring at his master, he knew that the new sleeping arrangements would carry some kind of price.  
“The new bed isn’t the only change,” Artemis said, confirming Elias’ suspicions.  
The tiger picked up a leather strap and held it out. Elias’ face fell. He hadn’t worn a collar in over five years.  
“This is for you,” Artemis continued, handing the leather to the neko.  
Elias removed his mother’s necklace with a sigh, preparing to attach the symbol of his slavery around his neck.  
“Wait, no,” Artemis said quickly. “It’s not for you to wear. It’s for you to put on me.”  
Elias stared at the tiger in shock.  
“You… you seem scared of me. And I understand why; I sort of stole you from your home. You don’t like talking, and I’m afraid I’m doing things you don’t like.”  
Artemis lowered his head toward Elias’ hands, inviting the neko to collar him. Elias wrapped the leather around the tiger’s neck, staring at the strange locking thing- buckle, his translator provided helpfully.  
“Push this end into the other end,” Artemis said quietly.  
Elias did what he was told, clipping the two ends together.  
“Is it too tight?” he asked, remembering the times his own collar would choke him.  
“No, but thank you for asking,” Artemis smiled.  
The tiger picked up a small rectangle and handed it to the neko.  
“There is a button on there. If you press it, I will know to stop what it is I am doing.”  
Elias touched the red button on the remote, pressing it uncertainly. Artemis winced, mouth curling into a strained smile.  
“Try not to overdo it though,” he said.


	8. Shopping Spree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias gets a change of wardrobe.

Artemis walked slowly through the crowded port, guiding Elias ahead of him with light touches. He could tell the neko was embarrassed by his wardrobe, but that would be changing soon. Artemis himself tried to keep himself from tugging on his collar.  
A hand grabbed his tail and the tiger growled quietly. The offending hand was quickly removed. It was always a problem on these ports, having appendages that stuck out, like tails. Passerby often tried to touch him, and he was hoping to spare Elias the experience.  
Which was why he walked behind the neko, guarding Elias’ tail.  
“Through here,” the tiger said quietly, pressing lightly on Elias’ left shoulder.  
They turned right down an alley, stopping in front of an open door. The sound of hundreds of languages faded as they left the main thoroughfare and Artemis sighed in relief. It gave him a headache trying to sort through the myriad of conversations.  
Stopping the neko, Artemis said, “There are going to be many unfamiliar things inside. If you need me to explain anything, just ask- or point at it.”  
It was unlikely the neko would ask any questions.  
Prodding his charge into the store, Artemis pointed Elias toward a counter. A young Xanar stood behind it, studying the neko with obvious interest.  
“Greetings,” she said graciously. “Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.”  
“Actually, my friend here is rather new to the technology of a starport,” Artemis mentioned.  
“Oh! Allow me to help you then,” the Xanar smiled.  
The tiger stepped back as the Xanar took over, making sure she kept all six arms to herself.  
“If you step in here, we’ll get your measurements,” the alien said, motioning the neko toward a circle drawn on the floor.  
Elias looked at Artemis, who nodded reassuringly. The neko took a cautious step over the white boundary.  
“Hold out your arms…. And…”  
A wall of light dropped down from the ceiling, surrounding Elias. The neko yelped in fear, but the light was gone before he could even move.  
“Perfect! What type of clothing are you looking for?”  
“Something suitable for cruising between systems,” Artemis explained.  
“Ah, light, breathy, but still insulated against a bit of chill?”  
The tiger nodded and the Xanar began typing on a tablet.  
“Here, try this on.”  
A black shirt appeared over the neko, drawing another yelp from him. It was a holograph given the properties of weight and feel. Elias still wore the purple shirt, granting him modesty, but he could feel the holographic clothes on him.  
“What do you think?” the Xanar asked, holding up a mirror.  
The neko stared at Artemis, and the tiger sighed.  
“You’re the one that will be wearing the clothes,” he said. “Do you like them?”  
Elias’ head shook, almost imperceptibly.  
“What needs to be changed? Are they too tight? Do you need shorter sleeves?”  
A shrug.  
“I’ll try loose,” the Xanar said, typing.  
The clothes loosened visibly, and Artemis noticed the slightest relaxation in the neko’s stance.  
“Better?”  
Elias nodded.  
“Now for the pants. Do you want them to come up under your tail, or do you want a button above your tail?”  
The question was met with another blank stare and Artemis sighed again. It was like trying to draw water from a rock.  
Thankfully the Xanar was undaunted.  
“We’ll try the button first then.”  
Black pants appeared over the neko’s legs, and he stiffened.  
“Looser?”  
A shake of the head no.  
“Okay. We’ll try below the tail.”  
The pants changed, and again the neko relaxed slightly, as his clothes became more similar to what he was used to.  
Artemis gave the Xanar a nod, and she smiled.  
“Tricky customer no doubt, but we got you in the end. Do you want a different colour?”  
“How about purple?” Artemis suggested. “It looks good with his eyes.”  
“Ooh, yes! Like this!”  
The black clothes changed colour as the Xanar tapped away on her tablet.  
“I like it,” Artemis said after a moment. “What about you Elias?”  
The neko hesitated before nodding.  
“Can we see blue as well? We might as well get some variety.”  
Elias met Artemis’ eyes, silently pleading for him to end this.  
“Actually, I think we’re good,” the tiger said, taking pity on the neko. “We’ll buy eight sets, two in blue, purple, red, and green.”  
“Great! That’s eight sets of customised clothes, eight hundred credits.”  
Artemis paid for the outfits and he and Elias sat in a chair while the Xanar set about crafting the clothes. They were out the door thirty minutes later.

“We have one more purchase to make before we return to the ship,” Artemis said.  
Elias turned at the tiger’s prodding, tensing as they approached yet another store. Who knew what fresh horror awaited him in here?  
At least he was dressed appropriately now. The clothes were actually rather comfortable, a little tight in the butt, but Elias liked the way they felt.  
Something beeped as they passed through the door, alerting the owner. It had startled the neko the first time it happened, but now he found that he was getting used to it.  
Scanning the store for threats, Elias noticed several rectangles like the one Artemis kept in his room.  
“Tablets,” the tiger said quietly. “You’ll need one eventually. If we get it for you now, I can teach you to read while we’re on our way to my planet. Plus you can get some pretty fun games on them. It helps to pass the time.”  
Artemis approached the shop owner, some kind of strange metallic creature that spoke in the same kind of voice as Artemis’ bracelet. Elias’ implant labelled the being a robot. Another word he didn’t understand, but at least he had a name for the creature.  
The tiger spoke to the robot for a few minutes, before picking up a blue tablet. Elias watched him swipe his card to pay for the object. The tiger must have spent so much money on him already. How would he ever pay it back?  
Slowly the neko felt like he was sinking into a different kind of slavery. Artemis would own him until he could pay him back.  
The neko’s hand brushed against the remote in his pocket and Artemis flinched, nearly dropping the new tablet.  
Artemis turned toward Elias, a questioning look in his eyes. Elias dropped his head, shamed. He hadn’t meant to hurt the tiger.  
“Are you okay?” Artemis asked quietly, approaching him.  
Elias shrugged.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“You’re buying so many things…”  
The tiger nodded slowly.  
“Okay. This will be the last thing, okay? We’ll talk about it on the ship. I promise.”  
Artemis ruffled Elias’ hair.  
“I’m proud of you for speaking up,” he smiled.  
Elias scowled, sure that Artemis was patronising him. But he also felt a little warmth too. He had done a good thing.


	9. The Tiger's Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis discovers the downside to being collared.

Artemis sat in the pilot seat, staring at Elias.  
“I told you that you can pay me back whenever you want. There’s no rush.”  
The neko glared at the tiger, his hand dangerously close to his pocket.  
“It really isn’t much. If we take a detour over to Asla 3a, we can mine some of the asteroids. That will pay back at least half of what I’ve spent so far. The reward from finding your planet will pay the rest. But we are not leaving today. I’ve spent three months in the black. I want to sleep in comfort tonight. If you want, you can stay on the ship. Or I can buy us a room with two beds for the night. It won’t cost any more than I’ll already be paying.”  
The neko was feeling powerful. Artemis was happy for him, though he worried about his neck. Had he given himself to a trigger-happy cat?  
The tiger stood up.  
“Follow me if you want. If not, make sure you lock the ship. I don’t want anyone breaking in.”  
Artemis headed back into the port, searching for an in. He noticed Elias following him at a distance, and hit a button on his bracelet, ensuring the ship was locked.  
During his trip, the tiger made sure he kept Elias in sight at all times. He let the neko walk on his own, basking in the freedom of choice while the tiger shot glares at anyone who approached the cat.  
A large alien stepped in front of him, a centaur with the lower half of a dog and the upper half of a cat.  
“Are you lost?” the alien asked, blocking Artemis’ path.  
“Perhaps. Could you tell me where the nearest inn is?”  
A sharp blow struck Artemis’ face.  
“How dare you speak to me in such a manner? Where is your master? I would have words with him.”  
Artemis’ hand flew to his cheek, then dropped to his collar. Fuck…

The neko froze as Artemis was slapped by the alien. Passerby were giving the two plenty of space, watching curiously as they walked.  
Artemis’ hand touched his collar and Elias gulped. He may be in a different culture, but he realized that even here slaves didn’t walk without their owner nearby.  
And he held the remote to the tiger’s collar. He was Artemis’ master.  
Pressing the button on the remote, he winced as Artemis yelped. Taking a deep breath, Elias strode toward the tiger, as he had watched his owners approach him before.  
The alien looked at the neko haughtily, a green chip glowing in a bracer on his arm.  
“Are you his owner?” he asked.  
“I am,” Elias replied with a confidence he did not feel.  
He was surprised when the bracer repeated his words for the alien, in the garbled tones of the trading language. Brushing it off, the neko turned to his “slave”.  
“You should have known better than to walk so far ahead,” he said sharply, trying not to let his inner fear show.  
“Sorry sir,” Artemis said, turning to face Elias.  
The neko slapped the tiger, knowing that it wasn’t strong enough. Artemis played along, wincing as he rolled his head with the blow.  
“Do not look at me.”  
“Feisty, isn’t he?” the alien smirked at the tiger.  
“I’m still breaking him. His previous owner was far too lenient with him.”  
“Clearly. You should keep a tighter leash on him.”  
“That I will do,” Elias assured the alien, his heart nearly beating out of his chest.  
“Have a good day,” the alien said, nodding to the “master”.  
“Thank you. You as well.”  
Shoving Artemis, Elias hurried toward an alley, pausing once they were out of sight. His stomach was a mess, nerves all tied in a knot.  
“Thank you,” Artemis said quietly, rubbing his neck.  
Elias sat against a wall, taking deep gulping breaths. He never wanted to do that again.

They made it to the inn with no further incidents, Artemis checking them in. His neck still stung from the collar’s shock, but the pain was worth avoiding being caught by an actual slaver. It was something he hadn’t thought about, buying the collar. He needed to act more docile in public.  
Elias was quiet as they entered the room, retreating into himself once more. Artemis had been surprised that the neko took charge like that. It was so sudden, so unexpected, so… so hot.  
Artemis shook the thought out of his mind, turning on the screen on the wall. Elias stared at the screen in interest, taking in the moving pictures, and the tiger smiled. It was so refreshing to see the neko’s almost childlike wonder at things he took for granted.  
Sitting on the bed on the left side of the room, Artemis let out a moan, sinking into the mattress. It was great to be off the ship. He loved his job, but sometimes he just needed to get away, even for just a night.  
“We have the room for twenty-four hours, so don’t worry about waking up at a specific time,” Artemis said.  
The tiger slid under the covers of the bed, staring at the wall. The news was playing, something about some emperor in the Narax arm of the galaxy getting a little jumpy about his sons. Artemis hated having background noise while he slept, but Elias was so enraptured with the device that he decided to deal with the noise for the night.  
The tiger woke up in the middle of the night, hearing whimpers over the news. He looked over at Elias’ bed, where the neko was laying rigid in bed.  
“Elias, are you okay?” he asked.  
The neko muttered something, his eyes shut tight. Artemis stood up and crossed the room, kneeling beside the neko.  
“Elias?”  
He reached out and shook the neko lightly, and Elias’ eyes flew open. The neko looked around wildly, panting, and Artemis put a hand on top of his, hoping to calm him.  
“You’re okay,” he said. “You’re safe.”  
The neko flung out an arm, smacking Artemis in the nose before curling into a ball against the wall beside the bed.  
“Ow,” Artemis muttered, rubbing his nose. “Okay. I get it, no touching. I’ll be right here if you need me, okay?”  
The neko didn’t answer, not that Artemis expected him to. The tiger sat back, leaning against the bed as he waited.

Elias stared blindly at the wall, ignoring the splashed of colour that came from the wall with the moving portraits. Trembling, he tried to fight off the nightmare, the scream of the woman as the laser sliced through her.  
It wasn’t the first time he had been through this nightmare. It haunted him over the past three nights since they had left his planet behind. What gave him the right to take her life? Had he really saved Naia? Wouldn’t Danuva have found a way to save her without him?  
Rolling over, he saw Artemis sitting against the bed, his head bent tiredly.  
“I’m here if you need me kitten,” the tiger said quietly, not looking back.  
He needed him, needed to be held and comforted. But he couldn’t.  
Thoughts of all the times he had been taken poured into his mind and Elias shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut. Tears fell down his face, and the neko bit back a whimper.  
He had the collar, didn’t he? If Artemis touched him, he could stop the tiger.  
Slowly, the neko’s hand reached for the tiger. He touched Artemis’ neck, running his fingers through the coarse fur.  
Tugging lightly, the neko guided Artemis into the bed with him, his heart pounding. He pulled out the remote with his other hand, keeping it away from the tiger’s grasp.  
Artemis was careful nestling down beside the neko. Placing an arm over Elias, he hugged him against his chest, spooning him. Neither cat said a word, just moving until both were comfortable.  
Elias’ fingers skipped nervously over the remote, but he didn’t press the button. This was a bad idea, he just knew it. But it felt good, and Artemis was being gentle.  
Artemis’ free hand rested on Elias’ head, gently stroking the neko’s hair. It felt so good, the fingers running through his hair, playing with the little curls. Elias was surprised when the big tiger started purring, the rumbles spreading from Artemis into his own body.  
Slowly, the neko’s eyes closed. He felt Artemis reach over him, taking the remote from his grasp, but he was so tired, so warm, he didn’t care.  
Yawning, Elias drew further into Artemis’ arms. He was asleep a minute later.

Artemis woke slowly the next morning, warm and comfortable. An arm was draped over his stomach, and he followed it to the neko it was attached to, still sleeping peacefully. He was so cute, snoring quietly, ears twitching gently with each breath.  
Artemis stayed the way he was for as long as he could, not wanting to ruin the moment. Who knew when Elias would allow him this close again? But he had to empty his bladder.  
Sliding slowly out from under Elias’ arm, Artemis stood and silently padded to the bathroom. When he returned, he found Elias sitting up, turning the remote to his collar over in his hands.  
“Good morning Master,” Artemis grinned.  
Elias jumped, dropping the remote. He scowled at the tiger, and Artemis held up his hands in surrender.  
“Okay, okay, I’ll stick with kitten,” he laughed.  
The tiger reached over to ruffle Elias’ hair and the neko dodged his hand.  
“Are you okay?” Artemis asked, pulling his hand back.  
Elias hesitated before shaking his head no.  
“Nightmares?”  
The neko nodded.  
“You want to talk about them?”  
Elias shook his head again, and Artemis sat on the bed beside him.  
“Okay, well, if you ever want to talk, I’ll listen,” he said. “So, what do you want to do today? We have two more days before we have to head out again. I don’t know about you, but I am enjoying these beds.”  
The neko’s gaze was drawn to the screen still playing a news feed and Artemis sighed.  
“Okay, we can keep watching the news,” he said. “Just wait until we get back to my world. They have televisions there, like these but not built into the wall. There’s movies and shows and even sports for you to watch.”  
There was a knock on the door and Artemis stood up, leaving the neko to watch the news. Unlocking the door, the tiger stared at the grey alien on the other side.  
“Scholar, what a surprise,” he said. “Can I help you?”  
“I was just checking on Elias. Apparently someone was having trouble with a slave last night,” Scholar G’tara said, staring at the tiger’s collar. “I don’t recall seeing a slave collar on you yesterday.”  
“Um, yeah…” Artemis glanced at Elias on the bed. “Let’s take this outside.”  
He stepped past the scholar, making sure the door closed behind him.  
“So, the collar. I got it to help Elias. He doesn’t like to talk because of his past, and I want him to feel comfortable speaking his mind around me. If he gets scared by me, he can let me know.”  
“I see… It’s not that bad of an idea, except that it requires you to act as his slave. He is comfortable with this arrangement?”  
“He… well, he hasn’t said otherwise at least.”  
“I doubt he would. Scholar Fontar and I finished running through the data we gathered from him. We feel that testing for Fleet might benefit him.”  
“Actually, I was hoping to skip testing. He doesn’t need to go through that,” Artemis frowned.  
“Even with a recommendation from you it would be hard to get Elias into training without testing.”  
The tiger sighed.  
“He’s not ready yet. I want to give him more time to discover things before approaching him about actually joining the Fleet.”  
Scholar G’tara nodded.  
“That would be for the best,” he agreed. “Nonetheless, it might help him to have some direction in his life. He’s probably lost right now.”  
“There’s no doubt about it. Thank you for your advice Scholar. I will discuss it with Elias when the time is right.”


	10. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two attempt to sort out their feelings amidst Elias' night terrors.

“And we’re off,” Artemis sighed as the ship returned to its typical running heat. “This journey will take some time. We’ll be stopping every week or so to take on fuel and spend a night off the ship. It’s necessary, trust me.”  
Elias sipped at his water, his eyes staring at the tiger’s collar.  
“Anyways, we need to teach you how to read. And how to speak Egaro, as well as Common.”  
The tiger smiled.  
“Of course, this means you need to speak…”  
The neko’s head shot up, Elias staring horrified into Artemis’ eyes, searching for some sign that the tiger was pulling his leg.  
“Relax,” Artemis laughed. “You’re just talking around me.”  
The tiger picked up his tablet and carried it into the kitchen, beckoning Elias to follow him. For the next few hours, Artemis laboured patiently to teach the neko the Common alphabet.  
Standing five hours later, the tiger stretched.  
“Well, that’s a good start,” he said. “Later I’ll help you set up your tablet and send you some beginner books to read. We’ll work on this a few hours a day and you’ll be reading in no time. But for now, I need to shower. You should probably take one too when I’m done.”  
Elias frowned.  
“I know you don’t like the shower, but you need to stay clean. It’s not that bad of a place, really. Perfect for thinking. Though that can be dangerous itself sometimes.”  
The neko remained silent.  
“Why don’t you keep working on your letters while I shower, and we’ll keep trying to get you into the water.”  
Elias glared at the tiger and Artemis laughed.  
“I’ll be back in a bit.”

Elias rested his head on the table, closing his eyes. He hurt, but it was a weird pain, one in his eyes. He had never felt this before, and he hoped he never would again.  
Closing his eyes helped, slightly, and the neko let out a breath, determined to keep his eyes shut until Artemis returned. This reading stuff was hard, and Elias didn’t see the point in it. He had never needed to read before. Why start now?  
The neko yawned, tired from his labours. The table felt so cool against his skin, so comfortable. Slowly he fell asleep…  
…and awoke to a nightmare. A body lay before him, blood pouring from the severed halves. Quarian and Danuva stood beside it, glaring at the neko.  
“Murderer…” Quarian hissed.  
“Slaves are not permitted to use weapons,” Danuva growled.  
“You will be punished for your crime.”  
Elias screamed as the two werewolves shifted and leapt at him.  
“Elias… Elias…”  
The neko sat up, his ears ringing with his screams.  
“You’re okay! You’re safe!”  
Arms wrapped around him, wet and dripping.  
“You’re safe,” Artemis said as the neko choked back his cries. “Nothing’s going to hurt you.”  
A hand ran through his hair, wetting it. Elias panted, slowly realizing he was in the kitchen on the ship. It was a dream. It had just been a dream.  
Artemis knelt beside him, holding him against his naked body. Water dripped from the tiger and Elias shuddered. He slapped his pocket in a panic, and Artemis yelped as the collar shocked him.  
Releasing the neko, the tiger fell back, pawing at his neck. Free from Artemis’ grasp, Elias stood and fled from the room.

Artemis took a deep breath, wincing at the memory of the shock. He had not been expecting that at all, though looking back he really should have.  
The tiger had just finished rinsing when he heard Elias scream. He panicked, running from the bathroom with the water still running. The neko had still been waking when Artemis had thrown his arms around him. It was a stupid move, but the tiger hadn’t been thinking beyond trying to calm Elias down.  
“At least the collar works,” he muttered, rubbing his neck again.  
Standing, Artemis left the room, bringing up the hologram of the ship to locate the neko. Elias was in the cabin, and Artemis sighed in relief. He didn’t feel like climbing into the cargo bays right now.  
Returning to the bathroom, Artemis turned off the water and began drying off. He shouldn’t have run out naked, but he had been scared for the neko. Now that he knew Elias was safe, at least from physical harm, the tiger let him be.  
Dressing, the tiger grabbed a towel and began mopping up the trail of water that ran through the ship. It was a waste of liquid, but it couldn’t be helped. There wasn’t much water gone and it wouldn’t cut into their drinking.  
He needed to talk to Elias; needed to apologise. He had just been trying to help, but if the help was unwanted, he shouldn’t have even tried.  
Standing in front of the cabin, the tiger knocked on the wall next to the door. The door was opened, and he could see Elias curled up on his bed, but after being shocked in the kitchen he was nervous about entering the room without Elias’ permission.  
“Can I come in?” Artemis asked.  
The neko’s shoulders shrugged, and Artemis stepped through the door. Sitting on his own bed, the tiger sighed.  
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have dressed before touching you.”  
Elias shivered, his eyes looking past Artemis. Whatever that dream he had was, it had really gotten to him. The neko’s hand fidgetted near his pocket and Artemis watched Elias’ fingers warily.  
“I’m not upset at you for using the collar,” he said. “It was my fault you shocked me.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
He said it so quietly Artemis almost missed it.  
“So am I,” he sighed. “Are you feeling better?”  
Elias shook his head no.  
“Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?”  
The neko shrugged. He uncurled and stood up. Crossing the four feet of space between the beds, Elias bent in front of Artemis, his fingers brushing uncertainly across the collar.  
Artemis met the neko’s eyes, trying to read the unreadable. He felt Elias tugging on the collar, and his stomach lurched.  
“What are you doing?” the tiger whispered.  
Elias’ hands shook as his fingers ran over the collar, searching. His thumb brushed over the sensor on the collar’s buckle, and with a click, the collar fell off the tiger’s neck.  
“I don’t want to hurt you…”

Elias shivered as the collar dropped onto the bed. Artemis was free. He could do whatever he wanted to the neko and get away with it.  
But Elias meant what he said. He had hurt Artemis too much already. He didn’t want to hurt him any more.  
A hand clasped around his wrist and Elias inhaled nervously.  
“Thank you,” Artemis breathed, hugging the neko.  
Elias stiffened under the tiger’s touch, and Artemis backed off quickly. Confusing thoughts ran through the neko’s mind. He was scared of Artemis’ touch, afraid the tiger would attack him. But he found himself craving the tiger’s arms around him at the same time.  
Artemis’ hand ran through Elias’ hair, and a purr slipped out of the neko. He bit his lip, horrified at his slip. Danuva had let his purring go, but Artemis was not Danuva. Who knew what he would do?  
The tiger’s hand ran through his hair again, and again. Elias closed his eyes, pressing his head into the palm of Artemis’ hand. He couldn’t help himself, it felt so good.  
“Your purr is adorable,” Artemis said.  
The tiger flinched at his words a second later. But they were out there now.  
Elias stepped back again, his expression guarded. There it was. Artemis wanted him.  
“You know what? I’m not sorry. It is adorable,” Artemis continued.  
Maybe removing the collar was a bad idea. The neko’s eyes flicked over to the leather strip on the bed. There was no way he could get Artemis back into it.  
The neko’s tail flicked uneasily, wrapping around his leg.  
“You’re worried…” Artemis realized. “Why are you worried about your purr-”  
The tiger’s eyes widened.  
“No, Elias, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t want to have sex with you. I mean, I do, but not now-”  
Once again, Elias turned and fled from the tiger.

Artemis sat under the water in the shower again, his eyes closed. He just kept fucking up.  
Elias had trusted him enough to remove his collar. He was getting through to him. What had possessed him to say that?  
Not that it wasn't true. The neko was adorable and a part of the tiger did want to have sex with him. But he had only known Elias for three weeks. Seven, if the month of stalking the neko from space could be counted.  
Briefly, the tiger wondered if the being who had created the alternate universe they were travelling through had a way to go back in time.  
Idle thoughts.  
How could he fix this? Artemis didn't want to approach Elias again, it would seem like he was forcing the issue. But he wanted to apologise for his words.  
Shutting the water off, Artemis dripped dry in the shower, the drain collecting the excess water. They'd wasted enough water today.  
There was a quiet thump on the door and Artemis froze.  
"Elias?"  
Of course, it was Elias. They were on a spaceship ten light-years from the nearest station. Who else would it be?  
Pulling his pants over damp fur, the cat unlocked the door, finding the neko on the other side.  
"I'm sorry," Artemis said immediately. "I shouldn't have said… what I said."  
"Use me."  
The tiger faltered.  
"Um, what?"  
Elias stared at Artemis' chest, unwilling to meet the tiger's eyes.  
"Take me how you desire."  
Artemis frowned, lifting the neko's head with a finger.  
"No. I will not have any kind of sex when my partner would be unwilling."  
“But… you want it.”  
“But you do not. When you can come to me and tell me you want to have sex, then we will have sex. Until then, will you permit me to hold you?”  
Elias nodded slowly, and Artemis placed an arm around the neko.  
“I still think your purr is cute,” he said.

The dream was back. Danuva and Quarian had the neko cornered, both growling in their wolf forms.  
“Elias…”  
Artemis appeared between him and the wolves, his arms held out protectively. The neko reached out uncertainly, and his hand passed through Artemis’ body  
The tiger vanished, leaving Elias to curl up in front of the wolves.  
“You aren’t real…” the neko whispered as Danuva’s jaws snapped shut an inch from his face.  
“I’m real. I’m here. Wake up.”  
Elias’ eyes squeezed shut, his body shaking.  
No, someone was shaking him.  
Elias’ eyes flew open, staring into Artemis’ chocolate eyes.  
“Hey,” the tiger smiled reassuringly, pulling his hand back.  
The neko curled up, shivering.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” Artemis asked a moment later.  
Elias shook his head.  
“Can I hold you?”  
Slowly the neko nodded, feeling the tiger crawl into the bed behind him. Artemis wrapped an arm around him protectively, and Elias let out a shaky breath as the tiger stroked his hair.  
“It’s the woman, isn’t it?” the tiger asked quietly.  
The neko stiffened, the dream coming back to him.  
“It’s easy to take a life. Dealing with it after is more difficult,” Artemis said. “If you want, we can stop by Arao Station. They have a doctor there that can help you.”  
“No!” Elias hissed.  
Artemis paused in his petting of the neko.  
“Um, okay… Well, if we can find a place with the proper elements, I could synthesize a pill that could calm your sleep. It won’t cure you though. I’m pretty sure Asla 2c-1 will have what we need, and we’re heading there anyway for a bit of mining.”  
Artemis stood up, leaving Elias to shiver in the bed.  
“I’ll get the computer on a course and we should be there in ten hours.”


	11. Aala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis and Elias find an object drifting in the emptiness of space.

“One more try and we’ll leave it for today,” Artemis promised.  
He pointed to a letter on the tablet and Elias frowned.  
“R?”  
“P,” the tiger replied.  
The neko grumbled under his breath.  
“Cheer up, you have most of them down already. I’m really proud of you; most people need a year to learn this much.”  
A beep drew them out of their study and Artemis rubbed Elias’ head before leaving the kitchen.  
The alarm grew in urgency and the tiger frowned. Rushing toward the command room, Artemis threw himself into a chair. Scanning his instruments with practised ease, he realized they were five minutes away from colliding with an asteroid.  
“Elias! There is a suit in the bottom of my dresser! Put it on and get in here!” he yelled, his fingers flying over the ship’s controls.  
Glancing at the computer, he confirmed they were in the sister system to Asla. There weren’t any asteroid fields on this side of the portal; not in this system anyways. Where had an asteroid come from?  
Pushing the thought aside, the tiger throttled down and dipped the nose of the ship. They should shoot past the asteroid with at least a mile of space between them. It was cutting the manoeuvre way too close, and he called for Elias again.  
The neko appeared silently, dressed in a large baggy yellow suit. A glass helmet was held uncomfortably in his hands, and Artemis took the orb from him.  
“We’re passing really close to an asteroid of some sort. There is a chance we could crash, and if that happens it’s likely the ship will break open. I need to put this helmet on you so you can breathe if that happens,” he said quickly.  
“What about you?”  
The tiger bit his lips.  
“I’ll be okay,” he lied. “I can get my own suit on really fast.”  
Elias nodded uncertainly, and Artemis placed the helmet over the neko, making sure there was no breach in the seal between Elias and the outside universe.  
“There,” he said, his throat catching. “We’ll be okay. But if anything happens, you stay in the bathroom, okay? That’s the safest part of the ship.”  
Elias nodded again. His arms embraced Artemis, and the tiger touched the top of the cat’s helmet.  
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. I just need to slow and alter our direction ten degrees and we should miss whatever that is completely.”  
Turning Elias away, Artemis went back to his anxious study of his instruments, showing a minute to collision. He flicked a marker onto the object. If they missed it, he would turn back and figure out exactly what was floating this far out in relatively uncharted space.  
Further reducing the ship’s speed, Artemis held his breath. The alarm sped up even further, settling into an insistent pattern demanding attention as the ship slowed to a stop.  
They had missed.

Elias crouched in the bathtub, feeling small and insignificant in Artemis’ clothes. There was no airflow and he could barely hear. The pants were nearly impossible to walk in.  
There was no second suit. This was the only one Elias had seen. The tiger was going to die for him. The thought crushed Elias, and tears streamed from his eyes as he cowered in the tub. Not for the last time, the neko wondered if he had made a horrible mistake following Artemis.  
A loud thump echoed through the ship and Elias flinched. He couldn’t just sit here.  
Unlocking the bathroom, the neko shuffled back into the cockpit, finding Artemis staring intently at a screen.  
“Artemis?”  
The tiger yelped, spinning around.  
“Elias! Fuck!”  
Elias flinched back at the yell.  
“Hey, sorry,” Artemis said. “I just need to take care of something. We’re in a wreckage of some sort, and someone is still out there.”  
“But…” Elias fell silent, but Artemis gestured for him to continue. “We can’t breathe outside the ship?”  
“No. Someone is out there though. I’m picking up signs of life. Being in a field of wreckage like this, I think it was the IMFL. Their ships have escape pods that freeze you in time for up to a hundred years. But I came through here three months ago and there was nothing here.”  
Artemis stood and switched chairs.  
“I’m programming a probe. I’m pretty sure this is the wreckage of a ship, but I need to be sure before attempting a rescue. Here, see?”  
The tiger leaned to the side, showing Elias the screen in front of him. The neko could see several letters he recognized, but he couldn’t make out the words.  
“Program limpet,” Artemis read for his benefit. “I’m setting it to read life forms and report back.”  
There was another thump as Artemis pressed a button, and a screen appeared beside him. The tiger set his hand on a controller and began guiding the screen through several broken pieces of metal.  
“It was Military fleet,” he said, scanning a panel with the letters IMFL on it.  
A quiet beep echoed through the ship, and Artemis increased the size of the screen, revealing a white container floating through the wreck  
“Tagging for recovery. That’s a life pod,” he said. “Now we return to the ship and reprogram.”  
Elias shuddered again as the probe thumped back onto the ship. He watched Artemis’ fingers fly, sending the limpet out again. Five minutes later, the pod was aboard the ship.  
“Here, let’s get you out of the suit,” Artemis said suddenly.  
Elias glanced at the screen.  
“Oh, we’re stopped. As long as we fly slowly we should get out of here safely. Coming at the speed we did would have damaged us.”  
The tiger’s hands pressed against Elias’ neck, and the cat heard a hissing similar to the hissing of the doors. He felt the air around him freshen slightly and Artemis removed the glass from his head.  
“Okay. Let’s go meet our new friend,” the tiger smiled as Elias stepped out of the suit.

Artemis studied the white shell of the pod, trying to remember how to open it. He had only seen one of these in training, years ago.  
Poking at a panel, the tiger flinched back as a cloud of freezing vapour flooded out from the pod.  
“I think it will take at least thirty minutes for them to wake,” he said, trying to see through the cloud.  
The first thing Artemis noticed was a hand. Pale, furless…  
“Ir’s a human,” he said with interest. “I didn’t know there were any out here.”  
There was a hole in the hand, and Artemis frowned.  
“Help me get them out,” he said quickly.  
Reaching into the pod, the tiger unbuckled the belts holding the human in the container. He winced as more injuries made themselves apparent on the human, a woman, the tiger noted. A woman with the blue bracer of a commander. She outranked him.  
Elias helped lift the woman out of the pod, and they carried her to the medical pod Elias had been in when he first awoke on the ship. Artemis set up the unit for a human occupant, shutting the woman inside.  
“Injuries like that, she should be in there for a few hours. I know you don’t want to go to Asla Station, but we really don’t have a choice now,” Artemis said.

Hours passed, Artemis continuing to help Elias with his letters. The neko was worried about their passenger, but Artemis knew it would take a while for the human to wake up. They needed a way to fill the time, and Elias needed to learn to read.  
The neko began rubbing his eyes a few hours in, and Artemis paused.  
“Are you okay?” he asked.  
Elias nodded.  
“If you need to stop we can,” the tiger pressed.  
Elias shrugged, and Artemis closed out of the book they were reading.  
“We’ll take a break,” he decided. “Let’s go check on our passenger. She should be waking soon.”  
The trip to the medical bay was short, and again Artemis thought about the size of the ship. With a third passenger on board, even for a day, their limited space was even more limited.  
The med pod was beeping softly, alerting Artemis that the healing was finished. Standing over the container, he opened the glass, shutting the pod down.  
A minute later, the woman inside opened her eyes.  
“Commander, I place my ship at your disposal,” Artemis said quickly, hoping to avoid any issues of command.  
The human blinked uncertainly before her mind caught up with the situation. She sat up, taking in the situation, the nervous tiger with a bangle and the silent neko.  
“There is no need to surrender your ship, Captain…?”  
“Artemis, Commander.”  
The woman nodded.  
“I require transport to the nearest station to report. I believe that would be Asla?”  
“Yes Commander.”  
“What is today’s date?”  
“42.18.132.”  
“Two months… We should be safe to jump any time. I’ll leave the ship in your hands,” the woman said, closing her eyes.  
“Yes Commander.”  
The tiger motioned for Elias to follow him, and they vacated the room.

Her name was Hawke, and her ship had been attacked by pirates.  
Elias shuddered at the thought of a weapon that could destroy a ship capable of travel between the stars. More and more his new home seemed to be a death trap. When they landed at the station, he was grateful to step off the ship.  
Artemis seemed uncomfortable for a different reason. Elias understood, Hawke was a good looking woman. But he didn’t think Artemis had a chance with her. She seemed more interested in the pirates who had destroyed her ship and stolen several military codes.  
Artemis took him aside when they left the ship.  
“Hey, I need you to help watch the ship. I have to go with Commander Hawke. Make sure the Xanar refill the food and change the water again,” he said.  
The neko stared warily at the six-armed alien opening panels on the ship.  
“You don’t have to do much, just make sure nothing goes missing, okay?”  
Artemis hurried away, following the human, and Elias grumbled quietly. What the hell was he supposed to do? He didn’t know how to talk to the alien.  
Climbing back into the ship, the neko sat against a wall near the ramp, watching a pair of Xanar loading food into the ship.  
“Did you want anything specific added to the ship?” a Xanar male asked.  
Elias stared at him blankly, and the alien asked again, in a different language. After repeating himself in two more languages, the Xanar shrugged and gave up, muttering about foreigners not understanding basic speech.  
The neko leaned back against the wall, blinking slowly. His eyes hurt. But they hurt a lot now since Artemis had shown him the tablets. They’d be fine after a short rest.  
Elias’ eyes closed, just for a little nap.

Artemis growled as he climbed back onto the ship. Commander Hawke needed a ride to Cubeo, over a hundred light-years out of the way, and apparently, his ship was the only one in the station that could possibly take her. No matter that there was no damned space aboard his ship. He’d need to take on extra food to accommodate her, and another bed, all at extra cost to him. Not to mention that now Elias wouldn’t get to mine the rings around Asla 3a.  
Speaking of the neko…  
“Elias!” Artemis called, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.  
There was no need to worry the neko with things that could not be changed.  
Stepping into the kitchen, Artemis frowned.  
“Elias? Come on, we need to move some things around.”  
Heading into the cockpit, Artemis brought up the ship’s hologram. Aside from his own red dot, the hologram was devoid of marks. The neko wasn’t on the ship.  
“Shit…”  
The tiger ran out of the ship, hurrying toward a Deri, a quadruped alien.  
“Have you seen anyone leave this ship?” he demanded.  
The Deri blinked slowly.  
“Yeah, a Xanar removed a cat about an hour ago. Took him to be tagged.”  
“WHAT?!”  
The tiger didn’t wait for the Deri to repeat himself. Praying the station was having a busy day, Artemis sprinted toward the marketplace. He had to get Elias before the neko was lost in the slave trade.


	12. Slave Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias is captured by slavers; Artemis struggles to find the neko before he is lost forever.

Elias cowered in the corner of a cell, his hands clutching the tight collar around his neck. The leather was his only clothing, the outfit Artemis had bought was stripped away by his captors. It happened again. He was sold once more.  
The neko held back tears. Crying didn’t help him when he had been torn away from his family all those years ago. They wouldn’t help him now.  
“Unknown species. I picked him up a day ago,” a Xanar said to another alien as they walked past.  
Elias kept his eyes down, listening while trying to appear disinterested. He needed to get this collar off and find Artemis. But to get the collar off, he needed to find the remote, and the person holding it.  
It hadn’t been a day. At most, it had been four hours since he had been kidnapped off the ship. He hadn’t even been asleep that long before the Xanar had grabbed him. Surely Artemis was looking for him by now. But he was not going to wait for the tiger.  
Elias was done being a victim.  
The neko rose on shaky legs and grabbed the bars of his cage.  
“Let me go!”  
Pain surged through his neck, and Elias cried out, releasing the cage. Noise assaulted his ears as he recovered from the shock, and the neko realized a couple of aliens were laughing at him.  
Glaring at the aliens, Elias spat. He tensed up as his saliva hit one of the aliens, and just as he thought, another, stronger, jolt knocked him over.  
But he had seen what he needed to. An orange humanoid pressing a remote.  
The neko had his target.  
Someone approached from the other side of the cage, and he heard another laugh.  
“Feisty cat, isn’t he?”  
Turning his head, Elias frowned. The human he and Artemis had rescued was standing next to the cage, leering at him.  
“I could use a slave,” Commander Hawke said to the orange alien. “And I do enjoy breaking them in…”

Nothing. There was no sign at all.  
“DAMN IT!!!” Artemis roared, startling several beings nearby.  
He had been searching for hours, scouring every slave pit in the station. Elias wasn’t in any of them.  
“Captain, we can’t have you scaring our product,” an alien said behind him.  
Artemis growled, turning on the being.  
“People. They are living beings,” he hissed.  
“While you are entitled to your opinion, if you continue to disturb the pens, you will be removed.”  
Biting his tongue, Artemis stormed away. He was lost. The alien in charge of tagging new slaves hadn’t seen Elias. An alert had been put out with the neko’s description, but Artemis knew it was unlikely the neko would be found. If he wasn’t in the legal slave pits, he was in some back alley being sold off discreetly. Artemis would never see him again.  
The tiger ducked into an alley and sat against a wall, holding his knees.  
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Twenty thousand and he’s yours.”  
“Twenty and I get the collar too. I don’t want him running off on me.”  
Elias stared at the alien that held his remote, listening to the human haggle over him. He could not go with the woman. She was a warrior; she could overpower him easily.  
If the slavers knew what they were doing, the one holding his remote would stand back until Hawke had control over him before relinquishing the remote to his new owner. He would have only one shot at this.  
“There is an alert out for him. I will not go a credit above twenty.”  
The slaver growled.  
“Fine.”  
Hawke grinned at Elias, sliding a card through a block the alien handed her.  
“Alright, let me in there.”  
The slaver looked at Hawke, alarmed.  
“Relax. You have your money. I just want to have a bit of fun with him. You can tell he’s planning something.”  
Shrugging, the alien unlocked the cage and Hawke slipped inside. Elias backed up as she approached until he was stuck in the corner.  
“There’s no escape. You’ll save yourself a lot of pain if you just come with me,” the human said.  
“You’re wasting your time,” the orange alien laughed. “He can’t understand you.”  
“Maybe he can’t understand my words, but I have no doubt he’s smart enough to understand my tone.”  
Hawke grabbed the neko’s wrist, holding tightly. She dragged him toward the cage door, motioning for the alien to open it again. Back outside the cage, the human held out her hand for the remote.  
As the device touched her hand, Elias made his move, knocking his head against Hawke’s chest.  
The human yelped, her grasp loosening, and Elias lunged away, grabbing the remote as he ran. He was free.  
The neko made it barely five steps before he was tackled. A jolt of electricity shot through him as Hawke’s finger stabbed the remote, and he howled in agony.  
“That was a good try,” the human laughed, hoisting Elias back to his feet. “But you missed one thing. Your collar marks you as a slave. There’s no way to remove it without us.”  
Dragging the neko back toward the cage, she nodded at the alien.  
A finger pressed against Elias’ collar and Hawke placed her thumb beside it. The collar beeped, and the alien removed his finger.  
“He’s all yours.”

“Have you seen this neko?”  
“No.”  
Artemis hurried down the road, showing the picture of Elias he had pulled from the ship to another alien.  
“Have you seen this neko?”  
The alien frowned.  
“Captain, I don’t even know what a neko is. Are you going from person to person looking for it? I wasn’t aware the fleet gave away grants for that.”  
Artemis growled, storming past the alien.  
“Have you seen this neko? Have you seen this neko?”  
An hour later he was sitting against a wall, Elias’ picture held loose in his hand. It was hopeless. The neko was gone, and Artemis would never see him again.  
“Captain Artemis!”  
The tiger flinched at the harsh tone. Looking up, he saw Commander Hawke storming toward him.  
“We agreed to meet at the hotel room two hours ago.”  
“I’ve been busy,” Artemis said tiredly.  
“It doesn’t matter. Come with me.”  
The tiger’s tail flicked angrily, but he followed the human. He had no choice; she was higher in rank than him.  
They walked toward the hotel he had been supposed to meet her at, maintaining a stony silence. Walking down a long hall of doors, Commander Hawke paused.  
“I know you’ve been looking for your neko friend, but you need to stop. We’re leaving the station in ten hours. Take the time to sleep.”  
Artemis bit his tongue as the human opened the door to their room. This was going to be a long trip, and he didn’t need to antagonize the woman who could make his life hell.  
Passing through the door behind Hawke, the tiger froze. A shape was curled up on the bed, naked and shivering.  
The man looked up, his eyes brightening warily as he recognised Artemis. Letting out a strangled cry, Elias leapt off the bed and ran across the room, throwing himself into Artemis’ arms.

The tiger’s arms closed around Elias, wrapping the neko in a warm, safe cocoon. He felt a drop of liquid hit his shoulder, and Elias realised the tiger was crying.  
“You’re collared…”  
Artemis turned on Hawke.  
“Why is he collared?!”  
“Technically he belongs to me. I heard he went missing, and figured you wouldn’t know all the good spots to find a slave.”  
Elias held back a flinch at the word.  
“I’m not a slave.” he said.  
Hawke looked at him strangely, and the neko realised that unlike Artemis, she couldn’t understand his tongue.  
“No, you are not. How much did you pay for him?” Artemis asked.  
“Fifteen thousand.”  
Artemis glanced at Elias, who frowned.  
“It was twenty thousand,” the neko said.  
The tiger sighed, his hand running through Elias’ hair.  
“I have barely thirty thousand to my name.”  
Elias gripped Artemis’ arm, looking up into the tiger’s eyes. He didn’t have to do this.  
“Ten thousand and I’ll call it even,” Hawke said. “I make more than you anyways, and the Fleet owes me some backpay I’ll use for a new ship.”  
Artemis nodded, pulling out his money card. Hawke held out a block like the one Elias had seen the shop owners and the slaver use. Artemis slid the card through, adding his thumbprint, and he and Hawke reset the neko’s collar. The leather was removed a moment later.  
Elias rubbed his neck, trying to get rid of the sensation of the collar.  
“I’m sorry kitten,” Artemis said quietly, stroking the neko’s head.  
Elias shivered, and Artemis grimaced.  
“Will you be okay sleeping without clothes tonight? I don’t want to leave you.”  
Elias nodded.  
“I’m not sharing a bed with anyone who is nude,” Hawke interrupted them.  
“You don’t have to. I can sleep on the floor.”  
Elias shook his head, pulling Artemis toward one of the two beds in the room. The neko gently pushed the tiger onto the bed, crawling on beside him a moment later.  
“Nine hours and we’re leaving,” Hawke said from the other bed.  
Artemis removed his shirt and handed it to Elias.  
“It’s better than nothing.”  
Elias smiled gratefully, pulling the shirt over his head. Artemis leaned slightly, and pressed his lips against the neko’s forehead.  
“Good night kitten. Do not fear, you are safe with me.”  
Elias lay down and Artemis placed an arm around the neko. A few minutes later, they were both asleep. And for the first time in over a week, Elias slept through the night.


End file.
